Music and visuals
Goodwin, claimed was that there is a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals on screen, which includes illustrating, amplifying, contradicting and cutting visuals in time to the music.
Wrecking Ball is a song recorded by American singer Miley Cyrus for her 4th studio album Bangerz (2013). Released by RCA Records, the song was written by MoZella, Stephan Moccio, Sacha Skarbek, Lukasz Gottwald and Henry Russell Walter, the pop ballad lyrically discusses the deterioration of a relationship. The song generally recieved favorable reviews from music critics who appreciated the lyrical content and overall production, but Cyrus' emotional delivery was questioned due to her increasingly sexual image. It debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number 50 and later became Cyrus' 1st number 1 single in the United States, after the controversial music video release. Wrecking Ball has sold 3 million copies in the United States, and many more worldwide.
The lyrics are matched literally with the music video, with Cyrus riding a wrecking ball. Close-up shots convey emotion and meaning e.g. for the lyric "all I wanted was to break your walls" she literally knocks down a concrete wall.
- The artists are clothed in fashionable, stylish and mainstream outfits.
- Pop music videos often contain bright colours, which connote happiness and a positive vibe.
- The artists are portrayed as happy, enjoying and content with life.
- They express the unity associated with teenagers, the main target audience.
- The lyrics are normally based around love or relationships.
- Often very dance orientated with catchy beats and lyrics.
Genre
The next key feature of a music video which Goodwin discovered was that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, not just the genre of the music but the genre of video itself. Genres include stadium performance, studio performance, location, narrative and conceptual/experimental.
All My Life is the 2002 song by American alternative rock band Foo Fighters, released as the 1st single from their 4th album, One by One. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance, and spent 10 weeks at #1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and peaking at #3 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was also a top 5 hit on the UK Singles Chart. The band typically conforms to the genre as the band are performing on stage, in their natural music environment.
The location is one best associated with bands and uses experimental camera and editing techniques, which fit in well with the lyrics. At the end we are shown that the band have been performing to no audience which tells us that for them its about the music, popularity, or the legions of fans. They will still play regardless of fan base numbers, and the emotion seen in Dave Grohl when singing allows the audience to identify with certain lyrics.
Alternative rock genre - codes and conventions:
- Clothes associated with rock e.g. skinny casual t-shirts, skinny jeans, tattoos, converse and boots.
- Often live performance type shots, with a heavy showing of the artists playing their insruments.
- High key lighting gives the band a flawless and glamorous appearance. Prominent silhouettes of the band members are important for star image.
- Close-ups of the instruments.
- Slow motion can be used in performance based music videos for lip syncing. This is also common on fast played instruments e.g. drums.
- The use of props such as dust and smoke make the shots more interesting and prominent.
The location is one best associated with bands and uses experimental camera and editing techniques, which fit in well with the lyrics. At the end we are shown that the band have been performing to no audience which tells us that for them its about the music, popularity, or the legions of fans. They will still play regardless of fan base numbers, and the emotion seen in Dave Grohl when singing allows the audience to identify with certain lyrics.
Alternative rock genre - codes and conventions:
- Clothes associated with rock e.g. skinny casual t-shirts, skinny jeans, tattoos, converse and boots.
- Often live performance type shots, with a heavy showing of the artists playing their insruments.
- High key lighting gives the band a flawless and glamorous appearance. Prominent silhouettes of the band members are important for star image.
- Close-ups of the instruments.
- Slow motion can be used in performance based music videos for lip syncing. This is also common on fast played instruments e.g. drums.
- The use of props such as dust and smoke make the shots more interesting and prominent.
Artist close-up
Goodwin expressed that a key feature of music videos is several close-ups of the artist. This is due to the record companies requirement that the artist is strongly featured within the music video. Some artists will often develop motifs that reoccur across multiple videos. These include artist branding, celebrity culture, artistic portrayal and implications on looking good.
Reptilia is a song by indie rock band The Strokes. The 2003 song is the 2nd single from their 2nd album Room on Fire. In Octover 2011, NME placed it at number 129 on its list, 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years. Although it is not one of the bands highest charting singles since the song peaked at #19 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, it is still one of the bands most popular singles.
The vast majority of the shots are close-ups of the different members within the band playing along to the song. This focuses attention on each individual member and the instruments, implicating that for them it is more about the music than the theatrics that most pop stars favour, however there are shots of their popular fashion styles e.g. converse and trendy haircuts to attract an audience.
Indie rock genre - codes and conventions:
- A retro look is created through the outfits and stylish clothes.
- Fairly low budget music videos are created from the indie rock genre. Easily accessable locations such as studios, cities and parks are quite often used. These settings are kept simple. Live performance shots are also featured often.
- The shots focus on the actual talents of the band members, and features many close-ups of the instruments. Although in recent years it has become popular to include narrative as it helps the audience to follow the lyrics of the song.
- The editing cuts either fast or slow to reflect the pace and beat, and to make the viewer feel that they are in the video, which matches Andrew Goodwin's theory. Black and white filters are also common of the genre.
The vast majority of the shots are close-ups of the different members within the band playing along to the song. This focuses attention on each individual member and the instruments, implicating that for them it is more about the music than the theatrics that most pop stars favour, however there are shots of their popular fashion styles e.g. converse and trendy haircuts to attract an audience.
Indie rock genre - codes and conventions:
- A retro look is created through the outfits and stylish clothes.
- Fairly low budget music videos are created from the indie rock genre. Easily accessable locations such as studios, cities and parks are quite often used. These settings are kept simple. Live performance shots are also featured often.
- The shots focus on the actual talents of the band members, and features many close-ups of the instruments. Although in recent years it has become popular to include narrative as it helps the audience to follow the lyrics of the song.
- The editing cuts either fast or slow to reflect the pace and beat, and to make the viewer feel that they are in the video, which matches Andrew Goodwin's theory. Black and white filters are also common of the genre.
Star iconography
Mainstream bands achieve popularity from selling their appearance and therefore a brand. This is usually through branding, style and unique selling points.
Hard rock genre - codes and conventions:
- The bands appearance is heavily centered about the performance, instruments and wild outfits/hair.
- Often performance locations and live concert shots, making the audience feel like they are there.
- Wide angles to show the full band in action, and mid shots/close-ups of specific instrument playing.
- Props such as smoke machines and lasers give the performance dramatic effect, and give the audience a taste of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.
- The bands appearance is heavily centered about the performance, instruments and wild outfits/hair.
- Often performance locations and live concert shots, making the audience feel like they are there.
- Wide angles to show the full band in action, and mid shots/close-ups of specific instrument playing.
- Props such as smoke machines and lasers give the performance dramatic effect, and give the audience a taste of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.
Looking and voyeurism
Goodwin also identified that within music videos there is voyeurism. Voyeurism is theoried by Laura Mulvey, stating that the audience seeing something that they would or should not usually see. This could be in the form of nudity/near nudity/revealing clothes, exhibitionism, an intimate location e.g. bedroom and a frame within a frame
The male gaze (by Laura Mulvey) is often used to attract a male audience. The male gaze focuses on presenting things that appeal to men, which often means a voyeuristic view and objectification of women. The emphasis on looking also includes the artist looking directly into the camera, helping the audience to connect with the artist. I have previously conducted some research about Mulvey's gaze theory which can be found on my blog (http://sarahdavismediahnc.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/laura-mulveys-visual-pleasure-theory.html).
The music video for Rihanna's 2012 track Stay ft. Mikky Ekko, depicts Rihanna naked in a bathtub filled with cloufy water. Critics likened the vulnerability and raw emotion in the video to the song itself. Directed by Sophie Muller, the song charted multiple charts worldwide. It peaked number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Rihanna's 24th top ten on the chart, surpassing Whitney Houston. The worldwide single has sold over 10 million copies, making it one of the best selling singles of all time. The intimate nature of the video attract an audience, as the fans feel like they can attain a personal connection with her.
R&B - codes and conventions:
- The men are often pictured with minimal clothing on, showing their toned physiques to attract their target audience of teenage females. Jeans hung low showing underwear, designer trainers, tattoos and gold jewellery are also common fashions for R&B music videos.
- Women also dress scantily clad for this genre of music videos, because to their male fans, they want to be seen as an object of desire. Hair and make-up are often bold, defined and flawless. High heels elongate the womens legs, which also plays into the male gaze theory by Laura Mulvey.
- Low angles are used to show dominance, authority and power, appearing attractive to the audience.
- The beat usually cuts to the lyrics and has a catchy tune, to remain in the audiences memory.
Intertextuality
Goodwin noticed when studying music videos there are often intertextual references to other music videos, films and TV programmes. This can be homage, pastiche or even some kind of brand synergy.
Fancy is a three minute electro-hop number, which was written by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX. The 2014 track from Island Records plays homage to the 1995 hit comedy film Clueless, directed by Amy Heckerling. The music video for Fancy was directed by Director X, with Azalea playing Beverly Hills sociality Cher Horowitz and XCX as Tai Frasier. The Clueless inspired number was nominated for four awards at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, and has since been covered by artists such as Anna Kendrick, Da Brat and Lil' Kim.
Azalea has used inspiration from other films for her music videos to
give them narrative. Her 2014 music video for Black Widow ft Rita Ora is
heavily influenced by Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film Kill Bill. As an
audience, we can identify this through almost every aspect, including
the identical scene recreations, narrative, costumes and props.
Hip hop genre - codes and conventions:
- Mens clothing often features sporting attire such as basketball shirts, to signify strenght and sporting prowess.
- Women are usually scantily clad to show their bodies to the usual male audience. This links with Laura Mulvey's theories of the male gaze and voyeurism.
- Men are shown in
large numbers to signify power and strength in numbers e.g. he is part
of a group, popular and not a social outcast.
- Female hip hop artists such as Nicki Minaj show their fierceness and power by using their sexuality to their advantage.- Money, cars and jewellery are also used heavily in the mise-en-scene, to show wealth, power and ultimately status.
- Usual reference to parties, drinking, drugs and sex to appear 'cool' to the young urban audience.
- Many close-up shots and low angles, to show the artists authority and power as they 'look over' their audience.
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